


haha yeah i have a boyfriend he lives in canada though

by tooschoolforcool



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Drinking Games, Established Relationship, Families of Choice, First Kiss, Fluff, Gen, Getting Together, and melanie is an archival assistant, jon has ADHD in this fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-05-06
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:02:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23911987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tooschoolforcool/pseuds/tooschoolforcool
Summary: Jonathan Sims is the least likely individual to have a boyfriend Sasha had ever met, and she and the other Archival Assistants were not buying it for a second.So when Jon actually produces this mysterious partner at the office Valentine's party, it's quite a shock to everyone involved.Meanwhile, Melanie was not expecting to be set up on a blind date with a random friend of her boss's. She finds herself with no complaints.
Relationships: Georgie Barker/Melanie King, Martin Blackwood/Jonathan Sims, Sasha James/Tim Stoker
Comments: 129
Kudos: 1071





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> a bitch invented a really good orange vodka hot chocolate recipe and this fic is the result, because i wanted an excuse to tipsily write gratuitous jonmartin. i hope you like it!!!!!!!!!

It was normal to make fun of your boss a bit, Sasha thought, but it was even more normal when your boss was Jonathan Sims.

The man was weird, okay? She tried to be nice about it, but he was weird. Of course there was going to be an adjustment period, when everyone was getting used to getting shifted around from different departments and the like, she herself hadn’t come from Artefact Storage that long ago, but she thought she and Tim and the new archival assistant, some girl named Melanie, were normal enough, and was almost offended her boss couldn’t offer his assistants the same courtesy. 

It wasn’t even a nice sort of weird. That, she would have understood, she supposed, a tendency to dress oddly or something wasn’t uncommon among the Archives. Melanie was the fun sort of weird, from what she had seen, with her spiky black hair and dark lipstick, and Sasha could see herself getting along quite well with the other girl, thankfully. She already knew she and Tim would be more than alright working together, but they tried to restrict their relationship to outside of work hours, besides the occasional flirt when no one was paying attention.

HIs sort of weird was not Melanie’s sort of weird. Jonathon Sims was temperamental and easily irritated. These were his better qualities. He was easily forgetful, distracted constantly, and enraged when his assistants unknowingly messed with his precise routines and order. He also had a tendency to further anger or upset the statement-givers who looked to him for belief, some sort of little reassurance, which they certainly wouldn’t find with Jon. It was left up to Sasha to give the traumatized people traipsing out of the Institute half-assed cups of tea as she tried to be comforting while also actually doing her job. She would’ve assumed it was because she was a woman, which would have angered her, but Melanie seemed to not be saddled with the same caretaker role, probably because she could be just as prickly as Sims when she wanted to be. So Sasha did her best for those who had had brushes with the paranormal, and left Jon to whatever it was he did when he wasn’t recording statements.

Sims’ weirder qualities ranged from his habit of leaving tasks half-finished around the office, anything from coffee cups forgotten on top of random shelving units and cardboard boxes to papers very precisely placed that he would fuss about for hours if anyone so much as breathed on. Specific things would set him off and send him into a mood and they’d have to deal with him avoiding them or, worse, snapping at them for any tiny movement or noise.

Other days, they wouldn’t see him at all. He would be cooped up in his office for hours on end, and Sasha would come in after he had arrived, and leave before he had left. When they did see him, he would be unkempt, hair wild and eyes focused on something Sasha wasn’t seeing. 

The assistants put up with it, barely. Tim snapped at Sims when he aimed any of his temper in his direction, Sasha simply ignored most of it, and when Sims made some disparaging comment about a YouTube show Melanie was apparently involved in, the resulting scowls and harsh words he received from the woman were enough to get him to realize he’d find no easy target for his ire among his assistants. 

Over time, he mellowed slightly. Sasha found herself winding up with something of a small soft spot for Jon, as he seemed to be genuinely appreciative and interested in her work. It was a fair cry from Elias, who had constantly overlooked her, and she found herself gently reminding Jon occasionally when he went too long without food, water, or sleep. 

She was the only assistant who felt any semblance of warmth towards Jon. Tim was vocal in his dislike of the man, and Melanie echoed him. Sasha could hardly blame them. Jon was unsociable, unpersonable, constantly and consistently rude, and rarely in a good mood. Sasha had seen him smile all of three or four times, seen him laugh even less, and had heard him mention exactly one friend outside of work. Even then, the three assistants had a running joke: the friend, whoever she was, was imaginary. Sasha would have felt guilty about this, but Jon had proven he didn’t feel guilty in the least about his treatment of them, and even as his behavior changed for the better, the joke continued. 

So when Jon first mentioned his boyfriend, no one was believing him.

Melanie and Tim had been goofing off instead of working again for the 30th time that day, and Sasha had been diligently trying to ignore them, uncomfortably reminded of her time in high school. This wasn’t uncommon, but it wasn’t regular enough to actually upset her or cause too much of the workload to be dumped on her that Sasha didn’t mind. At least it was entertainment, and their job was often tedious and long, with odd hours and odd requests. When they weren’t researching or taking a statement, there really wasn’t much to do. 

This time it was a Never Have I Ever game, which was the high school component of the whole situation. She wasn’t quite sure how they were so entertained with it only being the two of them playing, and taking drinks of Mountain Dew, but it was fun to listen to, so she let it continue without too much protest.

When Jon came out of his office, seemingly in a good mood for once, it did little to hinder Tim’s game. Jon headed over to the coffee pot, absent-mindedly placing his glasses on a table nearby, and started the arduous process of emptying the filter and placing a new one. 

“Never Have I Ever… had a bad first kiss,” Melanie offered, leaning back in her chair as she twirled a pen in one hand. Tim scoffed.

“Terrible question, it’s supposed to be something you can change!” He put a finger down anyway, swiveling to kick Sasha’s chair. “Put a finger down, I know about your 4th grade truth or dare debacle.” 

“I’m not playing!” Sasha protested, but held up four fingers when Tim threatened to kick her roller-chair across the room. Jon, meanwhile, was searching for his glasses. Sasha made eye contact with him and pointed at the table, and he gave her a nod and turned to head back into his office.

“Boss-man! What about you?” Tim pointed his extended finger, the only one he still had up, at Jon. Jon paused, looking put on the spot. 

“I- Ah. I must admit I’m not quite sure how the game works.” He offered, looking rather glad for the excuse. Tim wasn’t letting him get out of the whole situation that easily. Sasha would have felt rather like it was bullying if she hadn’t known Tim well enough to realize this was a clumsy attempt at an olive branch. She doubted Jon would catch on, however. The two men’s communication methods would perhaps prove more effective if they attempted using their words.

“If your first kiss was bad, put a finger down. You start with five, so if your first kiss was good, hold up five fingers. I’ve got one left!” Tim demonstrated by swiveling his hand and extending his middle finger, the offending digit standing proudly upright. Jon sighed, holding up a hand and displaying five fingers before walking toward his office door.

“Whoa! There’s got to be a story there!” Tim pushed his chair off the wall to roll it slightly in front of Jon, blocking his path. Jon shook his head.

“No story. Unless the game requires me to tell one, I suppose.” 

“Screw the game, I’m requiring you to tell one! Who was it? Do we know them?”

“No story, Tim. It was my boyfriend, and to my knowledge you don’t know him. Get back to work.” Jon neatly sidestepped his chair and shut the door to his office behind him with an air of finality.

There was complete silence for a moment, before Melanie turned to Tim and Sasha with wide eyes.

“Blackmail? Ten bucks on blackmail.” 

“Hey! Leave him be, alright?” Sasha put in an obligatory attempt to defuse the situation. Tim and Melanie, when they seized on a game or an idea, could be a dangerous combination, as neither seemed to have a solid concept of what constituted ‘too far’. She sometimes missed the days when her job wasn’t 50% attempting to be the voice of reason.

“No way in hell that man has a boyfriend. Remember last month, when I moved his coffee cup over onto a different desk and he lectured me for thirty minutes on touching his things?” Tim rolled his eyes. “Could you imagine living with him?”

“That’s why I’m going where the money is. Blackmail.” Melanie nodded, and Tim scoffed. 

“Once a conspiracy theorist…”

Sasha could sense the argument, and interjected quickly.

“This is ridiculous, guys, we can talk about it not at work. I doubt we’ll ever actually see this boyfriend.”

“Good point!” Tim leaned his chin onto his elbows. “This guy’s definitely made up. Sims probably wants us to think he has way more of a life than he actually does.”

“Tim, I know Jon’s been rude to you on occasion, but I’ll remind you that not only is he sitting in the room next to you, he’s also your boss.” Sasha hissed in a quieter voice than Tim had been using, and when he spoke again it was at a much lower volume.

“I’m just saying, I bet if we try and actually meet this guy, Jon’s gonna try and get out of it. Just watch.” 

Melanie nodded in agreement, and it seemed like the matter would be dropped for a little bit. Sasha hoped it wouldn’t be picked up again.

She was not a lucky individual. Tim seized on this occurrence, as he was prone to do, and details about the mysterious boyfriend were questioned at every opportunity. Jon’s temper made its slow return, this time aimed only at Tim, and Sasha agreed with Melanie that Tim had brought it on himself. The constant pressuring continued anyway. 

There were questions about the boyfriend’s name, age, career, hobbies, personality, how the happy couple had met, if they lived together, et cetera, et cetera. Jon blew each of them off, which didn’t exactly help his case, and Sasha was of the opinion that this boyfriend was almost definitely fake, but pressing Jon on it could lead to nothing good. It was a battle of stubborn personalities, if you asked her, as Tim and Jon grew more and more irritated with each other and she could almost see the imaginary popcorn on Melanie’s desk. 

It came to a head when Jon grew angry enough to threaten to take actual office disciplinary action against Tim, something Archive disputes rarely came to, simply because no one bothered. Jon was close enough in age and experience to his assistants that his position as their boss was a little bit more title than actual earned respect, especially considering his brusque personality, and attempting to force Tim to act more professional was a losing battle. 

Tim did not take this well, and when Sasha was pulled abruptly aside the next morning as she came into work, it was not a good omen. It was a cold day, early February with sprinkles of snow gathering and collecting on rooftops slowly, and she wasn’t in any mood after the miserable trudge through the cold to entertain Tim’s antics.

“We should throw a Valentine’s Day party,” He whispered, brushing snow off of Sasha’s shoulder. “Jon will have to bring his boyfriend, and there will be no boyfriend, because he’s not real. I’m so sure, Sasha, it’s the only explanation-”

“I know, Tim, but honestly that seems like a lot of effort to expose a tiny white lie that doesn’t matter all that much.” She caught his hand on her shoulder, squeezing it a second before dropping it. 

“I just- he’s been acting so ridiculous. I have to do something, you know? Plus, the party would be fun. I even had an idea of who you might go with.” Tim waggled his eyebrows at her, and she laughed.

“Melanie? She’s not my type, Tim, I prefer them less… angry, I suppose. And taller, no offense to her.” 

“Well guess who’s almost your height and available the night of February 12th, the night of the closest Friday to Valentine’s day.” He grinned widely, and she couldn’t help the smile that grew on her face in response. 

“Maybe I can clear my busy calendar. Just for you, of course.” 

Tim nodded vehemently at this. “I swear, Sasha, it’ll be fun, I’ll gloat as little as possible when Jon shows up by himself, and Melanie probably won’t bother to come. It’s a win-win scenario.” 

She couldn’t argue that this was probably the best outcome to the ongoing ‘barrage of questions’ situation that she could ask for. Least amount of confrontation, and on the off-chance that Jon’s boyfriend actually was real, a chance to meet him was not to be turned down. Plus, a party might actually prove to be fun. Jon really had gotten better, through the past year they’d known him, and he seemed to genuinely be trying to befriend Melanie and Sasha, in the most awkwardly somewhat endearing way Sasha had ever seen. If she could get Tim to drop his grudge against the man and forgive his earlier behavior, her work life would grow significantly easier. It was always much more fun to be friends with your coworkers anyway. 

“I’ll help you plan it,” she sighed, putting on a more exasperated show than she felt. Tim smiled widely, and she pressed a light kiss to his prominent dimple. 

“It’ll be fun! Promise! Let’s get Melanie in on this.” He grabbed Sasha’s hand, and she followed him as they headed out of the shelves and to the assistant’s cramped room, where their three desks and a small kitchen area battled for space. The door to Jon’s office was in their room, but it remained shut and locked almost the entirety of the time Jon spent within.

Melanie was sitting at her desk, chewing on the end of a pen and humming along to some femme rock band song blaring from her earbuds. Tim threw a pencil at her as he entered the room, throwing himself heavily into his desk chair. Sasha watched it sail through the air and hit Melanie in the arm.

“Stoker, one of these days I’m going to stab you with this,” she said without removing her earbuds, and he tossed a pen at her forehead. This one missed its mark, sailing behind her and hitting the wall, and she swiveled in her chair. “Can I help you with your extremely urgent, work-related question, Tim?” 

Tim smiled at her sweetly. “Clear your schedule and attempt to pretty yourself up enough to find a girl for February 12th, because we’re having an Archives Valentine’s Day party.”

Melanie snorted. “And who did you convince to be your plus-one, Elias?” 

“Nah, he’s out of my league, so I had to settle for Sasha.” Tim swiveled his painted-on smile to Sasha, who rolled her eyes as dramatically as she could muster.

“In this cruel world, we all have to settle, for alas none of us are up to Elias’s high standards.” She threw a hand over her forehead in a mockery of a swoon, and Jon chose that moment to emerge from his office.

“Valentine’s party! On the 12th, after work! Bring your boyfriend!” Tim said in a rush, and Jon looked startled, almost dropping the empty mug he was holding.

“Tim, I’m not sure I’ll be attending,” Jon said, choosing to focus on refilling his caffeine source. 

“I figured you’d say that, so we’re having it at the Archives, since you basically live here anyway.”

“I suppose. I’ll make an appearance.” He poured coffee carefully into his chipped grey mug, then turned back to retreat to the safety of his lockable door.

“You’ll bring your boyfriend, right?” Tim shot after him. Sasha shot him a warning look. If Tim kept pressing on this bruise, Jon was sure to just refuse entirely, or just once again grow angry with Tim, and they’d all have to deal with the aftermath. 

“Oh. I was rather hoping to bring a friend of mine. My partner will most likely be preoccupied that day.” Jon cupped the mug of coffee in his hands, apparently in a good mood, as this was remarkably patient for him. On a bad day, it wouldn’t be unusual for Jon to ignore Tim entirely and pretend he couldn’t hear his questions and jokes. 

“That’s convenient! Your friend can go with Melanie! She doesn’t have a date.” 

“You don’t know that, Tim!” Melanie protested. Her words were ignored.

“I… will ask. My partner. If he’s free,” Jon offered slowly, beginning to walk back to his office. “I doubt the answer will be a positive one, but if it is, I suppose Georgie already knows Melanie from the... industry. She’d probably be alright with it.” 

“Wait, your friend is  _ Georgi- _ ” Melanie’s incredulous tone was cut off by the loud slam of Jon’s office door. She scoffed angrily. “He knows Georgie? Georgie Barker? No way. She runs the What the Ghost podcast, I’ve heard of her. He’d annoy the shit out of her, from what I’ve heard of the podcast.” She paused for a long moment. Sasha could almost see her growing irritated. “And what does he mean by the industry? What is that supposed to mean?”

“It’s supposed to mean you’ve got your first ever date! What’re you gonna wear?” Tim asked, and laughed as Melanie started swearing at him. Sasha glanced at Jon’s closed door.

This was going to be an interesting party. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was so much fun to write omg i hope u like it! 
> 
> background info: this is basically an au where georgie went to therapy, met martin in a group counseling session, they became friends, when georgie dated jon she said ‘hm. that bad boy can fit so much healing and positive growth but i am not a therapist’ and broke up w him, they remained friends, and she convinced him to get help for his mental health issues about three months before she introduced him to martin, who he started dating a month later, around two weeks after he started his job as head archivist.

“There’s a social event they expect me to attend, Martin,” Jon said from his seat on the couch, laying flat on his back with his legs hooked over the armrest. Martin laughed quietly, stirring whatever pasta dish he was making in the kitchen. Music played softly from a blue record player sat in the corner, on top of a precariously stacked pile of books, and Martin’s glasses fogged up with steam as he leaned over the kitchen counter. 

“Are you attending?” He asked, and Jon watched as he turned to strain the pasta, carefully leaning away to avoid a faceful of yet more steam. They had lived together two months now, and their flat was slowly approaching some measure of domesticity. Jon’s books served many purposes around the apartment, propping up various tables and chairs and occasionally replacing tables, and Martin had throw blankets in cheery colors and mugs with frogs on them and more tea boxes than Jon could count. It was all very homey. Jon quite enjoyed it.

“I suppose so, but they would like you to come along as well. And I invited Georgie. Thought you would like that.” He watched Martin’s smile. It was still hypnotizing to him, even after weeks of seeing it as often as he could.

“I like that very much, Jon, thank you!” He poured the pasta back into the pan and added butter, stirring for a moment before making his way across the floor littered with boxes and leaning over the back of the couch. Jon stretched his neck up to meet Martin’s lips with his own, still smiling into the kiss, and letting his head drop down when Martin walked back over to finish adding the sauce to their dinner. He sat up slowly, cracking his back, and leaned over to flick on a lamp. The soft glow illuminated the pale blue walls, a few photos of the two of them in frames, and one large photo of the Admiral. Martin had made several jokes about how Jon was more fond of the cat than Martin, and Jon had assuaged him with kisses. The topic had dropped, and the photo remained in its prominent place of pride, a pink sticker of a paw-print on its frame. 

“February 12th, alright? I asked Georgie already, and she’s already agreed to come along. Tim said she could be Melanie’s plus one.”

“Oooh, matchmaking, are we?” Martin grinned, handing Jon a bowl of spaghetti as he took a seat next to him on the couch. 

“I thought they might get along rather well, I suppose.” He smiled at Martin, stretching out his legs over Martin’s own and resting them on top. Martin tapped a finger on Jon’s ankle lightly. 

“I’ll make cake. It’ll be a fun time. I’m surprised they know I exist, it doesn’t sound like you get along rather well?” He spoke through a mouthful of the still-steaming pasta, and Jon chuckled at the sight, handing Martin a napkin.

“When I first took the job, right before we started dating, my demeanor was rather… prickly. That was months before I started my appointments, of course.” Jon leaned back further as he spoke, settling into the couch cushions. He much regretted his earlier behavior, but he was rather proud of the progress he had made since reconnecting with Georgie and being introduced to Martin through her. It turns out sometimes growing up entirely alone with no peers or emotional support wasn’t the best childhood to have had, and Georgie had helped him see that. That wasn’t the type of friendship you walked away from. When he had started therapy, he was able to work through his irritation in much more productive ways. He was almost certain if he had met Martin before he did, he wouldn’t have looked twice at the other man. As it was, they met at the perfect time, and Jon found himself very much in love with him.

“Understandable, but they don’t know that, right?” Martin asked, placing a hand over Jon’s where it lay on his thigh. Jon nodded. “So maybe if they knew you better, they would understand more. Especially if you haven’t told them about memory issues or the like, and you know I think that would help, if they understood why you get upset when people move things.” 

Jon began to speak up in an age old argument between the two of them, and thought better of it a few words in. He changed his tone after a beat of silence. 

“You’re probably right. Maybe I’ll attempt it after the party. I suppose they don’t have any explanation as to my actions, and that must be frustrating.” 

Martin beamed at him, squeezing his hand. “I suppose you’re right. Quite proud, Jon.” 

“I aim to please, Martin,” Jon said in return, and moved to sit cross legged, leaning in to kiss Martin. With his boyfriend at his side, perhaps this party would be enjoyable after all. 

Tim had to say. He was definitely shocked. 

First of all, the fact that Jon had even shown up to the party? Fucking amazing. Tim had been hoping for that, but never in a million years did he actually expect Jon to tell him at 5 pm that his boyfriend had arrived and needed to be shown into the building. Jon sounded unbearably smug when he had asked Tim to go fetch him, and Tim honestly didn’t blame him. He had been  _ so sure _ it was impossible for Jon to find someone to date him, but he supposed the Valentine’s season meant miracles were everywhere.

Tim and Sasha had rather outdone themselves decorating, and pink and red hearts covered every available surface. Elias had torn down a lot of their decor on the upper floors, the prick, but they had managed to protect their basement from the senseless carnage, and the glitter and balloons remained. Jon had told them his friend, Georgie, would be a little late. Melanie had dressed up a little for the occasion, as she’d realized that Jon had taken Tim seriously, and Jon’s friend was actually expecting it to be a bit of a date. Tim was gleeful about the whole situation. He and Melanie had developed a rather tumultuous friendship, equal parts teasing and practical jokes as it was grudging genuine affection. A blind date was the perfect combination of a joke and actually setting her up. 

“Are you Tim?” Tim froze as a tall man approached him, making his way down the staircase above Tim as he headed upstairs. 

“I am. Are you-”

“Martin, yes! Lovely to meet you. You’re Jon’s assistant, correct?” The smiling man in front of him held out a hand for Tim to shake and Tim did so, still completely in shock. He didn’t know what or who he had been expecting, but this was not it. Martin was gentle-looking, with a freckled tan face and curly gingery-blonde hair hanging around his ears. He wore a threadbare jumper with a floral tulip pattern, and held a large container holding a pink heart-shaped cake. Upon noticing Tim’s attention focused on it, Martin held it up. “I made cake, I hope chocolate is okay! It doesn’t have peanut butter, but it definitely has eggs, so I hope no one’s vegan.” 

“It’s good to meet you!” Tim finally came to his senses, shaking Martin’s hand and turning back towards the Archives to show him the way. Martin followed happily enough, and Tim kept attempting to sneak glances at him. This was insanity. There was no way this sweet-seeming man was dating his arsehole of a boss. 

“So, erm, you planned the party?” Martin attempted to make conversation, and Tim nodded as he held the door at the top of the stairs open. 

“Yeah, we all wanted to see this mysterious boyfriend Jon kept telling us about. He refused to tell us your name, you know!” Tim kept walking down the hallway, and Martin easily matched his pace, making full use of his height advantage. 

“Well then I’m starting off with a clean slate!” He laughed a bit as they made their way to the Archives. 

“Jon! He’s made his appearance!” Tim called as they walked into the room, and the door to Jon’s office opened. Martin eagerly stepped toward the door, and Tim was astounded and a bit uncomfortable as he watched Jon immediately go to the other man, kissing him soundly. He turned incredulously toward Melanie, who whistled loudly. The two broke apart, Martin flushing slightly, and Jon looking absolutely and absurdly pleased with himself. He had a tight grip of Martin’s hand.

“Melanie, Sasha, this is Martin, my boyfriend. Martin, meet the other archival assistants.” Jon went to gesture, forgetting his hand was already occupied with Martin’s. The man looked a bit nervous, fidgeting slightly with Jon’s fingers where they were intertwined with his. Melanie gave a small wave, and Sasha grinned, standing up and sticking out her hand. 

“Nice to meet you, Martin. Jon has told us nothing about you.” Martin shook her hand, smiling a bit awkwardly at her. 

“Yeah, I’ve heard he was a bit unforthcoming when it came to me.”

“I was as forthcoming as I needed to be,” Jon protested. “It’s a workplace.”

“Well right now it’s a party!” Tim grinned, looking from face to face. “Who wants to dance?”

There were no volunteers.

Martin was beginning to think the relationship between Jon and his coworkers was more strained than he thought. 

Martin had known they didn’t know much about him, sure, but it became clear rather quickly that they had been convinced he didn’t exist at all. He had even overheard the other man working there, Tim, he thought, making some sort of joke about how at this rate, the friend Jon had invited might turn out to be real as well. Martin had cleared his throat loudly behind Tim, asking Jon loudly when he expected Georgie to arrive, and Tim had looked suitably cowed, which made Martin feel vindicated enough he let the matter drop. 

He had decided to try and like Jon’s coworkers best he could. From what he had heard, they were quite nice people, and it wasn’t their fault Jon wasn’t the most personable at the best of times, especially because Jon hadn’t explained his ADHD to them. Martin himself had been angered by Jon forgetting important dates, not responding to texts for days, and similar grievances before Jon had very matter-of-factly asked him to take him to the pharmacy to pick up his meds. Martin had apologized, feeling ashamed for adding to the stress of Jon’s issues with memory, and Jon had seemed surprised that his behavior not being a result of him simply being inconsiderate would be a factor. Apparently he had never taken the time to explain to anyone the reasons behind his actions, and it hadn’t occurred to him that accommodations could be made. 

He was almost sure Jon’s coworkers would feel differently if they knew Jon wasn’t doing any of this out of malice, and definitely not to deliberately antagonize them. Most people were more understanding than Jon would think, simply because Jon wasn’t used to people attempting to be understanding.

As of yet, it had been an uneventful party. Martin had sat near the Archive staff as a few of the other groups of Institute employees made their way into the Archives, where they had set up decorations and some games amongst the tall shelves. He thought it a rather macabre place to hold a party, but Jon was very fond of these creepy aisles, so he tried to enjoy it as music echoed softly through the large space. There were more people than he had expected, but Jon had told him the only ones he had to learn the names of were the Archive staff, so those were the ones he paid attention to.

Jon had stepped away for a moment to fetch punch, and Martin’s smile upon seeing him walking back over was automatic and warm. They were tucked away in a corner. Sasha and Tim sat nearby, simultaneously sharing and fighting for a large folding camp chair, and Melanie was sitting on her phone, looking a bit bored. 

“Thank you, love.” Martin tilted his face up expectantly, and saw Jon’s small smile just before as he leaned in to plant a small kiss on Martin’s cheek. He took a seat beside him, pushing their chairs closer together as he did so.

Melanie was staring at them, and Tim wore a similar expression. Both of them looked shocked, and Martin couldn’t help a sort of smug feeling flow through him. He was fiercely proud of his relationship with Jon, how much they loved each other and pushed to help each other get better and stay healthy, and he was happy to show it. Especially when apparently Tim’s opinion of Jon was so low his idea of humor was to joke about how alone Jon probably was. 

Yes, Martin was taking this very personally. He also didn’t know Tim well enough to care much, except for that nagging thought that he wanted to try and keep the benefit of the doubt. However, there was no harm in showing affection to his boyfriend, and if it appeased that protective (possibly more petty) part of him, well, that was a bonus.

With that thought in mind, he moved his chair still closer to Jon’s, slinging an arm around him and pulling him onto his shoulder. Jon’s head fit perfectly, and he made a small noise of contentment. Martin fought the urge to wax poetic in his own thoughts about how beautiful Jon looked, even when tired, with heavy bags under his eyes and mussed hair. He would have to convince the other man to sleep better. 

“So when’s your friend coming? The one I’m apparently on a date with?” Melanie piped up, trying to sound nonchalant. Jon shrugged, but didn’t respond, apparently passing the task to Martin. 

“She tends to arrive fashionably late, as she’d put it.”

“I’d call it unfashionably rude,” Jon piped up irritably, and Martin shushed him. 

“She just gets distracted, Jon, same as you, don’t be a hypocrite.” Sasha giggled quietly and Jon’s expression turned further annoyed, but this quickly faded as soon Jon glanced up to see Martin’s smiling face. 

“Georgie will be here soon, Melanie, don’t worry.” Jon closed his eyes for a moment with a barely perceptible yawn. Martin shifted him to be more upright.

“Goodness sakes, Jon, don’t fall asleep on me. It’s only 6 o’clock, honestly.” He brushed a thumb gently across Jon’s cheekbone, kissing him softly before turning his attention back to the group. 

“Anyone want to play a game or something?” 

  
  


Melanie was pretty sure this Georgie girl wasn’t going to show up, and she was a little surprised to find herself disappointed.

It was a weird set-up, honestly, this sort of date but not quite sure if it’s actually like a romantic date or not, but Melanie had never been on even a sort-of date with another woman before, and she was very keen to try it. She’d known she was gay since she was young, sure, but the dating pool was small, and she hadn’t even had her first real relationship yet, and this had seemed like a decent opportunity for a trial date of sorts. Even if any friend of Jon’s was sure to be weird, she had listened to Georgie’s podcast before, even if she had never seen or met her. She liked the podcast enough, Georgie sounded smart, and it seemed they had a great deal in common.

So she dressed up a little bit. Nothing too fancy, just a short-sleeved black dress and her boots, and maybe she spent a little longer on her eyeliner and lipstick than usual but that was just so she had an extra boost of confidence. Melanie rationalized that it was a party, so she’d meet more of the Archives than usual, so more people would see her than usual. It made sense to dress up.

She felt a little stupid when it seemed Jon’s friend Georgie was a no-show. She tugged her flannel on and sat back, resigning herself to a night of small-talk and third wheeling the two sets of couples, when a woman she didn’t recognize walked in, and her eyes were instantly drawn.

The woman was short, with a curly bob of orangey-red hair and freckles everywhere. She had on a bright pink bomber jacket and beat-up Converse and she was extremely pretty and she was walking towards them and holy shit, this was Georgie, this was Jon’s friend, oh my god what had Melanie gotten herself into.

“Hey Martin! Jon!” Georgie called happily as she approached, holding out her arms expectantly. Martin pushed Jon off of him gently and stood up to hug her, then stepped aside so Jon could take his place. Jon smiled as he hugged Georgie tightly, and Melanie shot a glance at Tim, who was once again as surprised as she was to see Jon actually interacting with human beings. Normally, and casually, at that. What the fuck was going on? 

She was more surprised by Georgie herself. She was cute, exactly Melanie’s type, with soft curves and a kind looking face. There was no way in hell Melanie was going to be able to string two words together the entire night. 

“You must be Melanie, huh? My date for the night?” Melanie looked up to see Georgie sliding into a chair next to her, leaning her chin into her elbow where it landed on Melanie’s armrest. Her eyes looked like she was already laughing, and she had glitter brushed onto her cheekbones. 

“I’d certainly like to be.” Melanie was innerly congratulating herself on her opening statement, so much so that she failed to stick the landing. Her chair almost fell over entirely as she managed to lean too far back to make room for Georgie, and she let out a small squeak.

Georgie reached out a hand to steady her, and Melanie blushed as she sat upright again, putting her feet firmly on the floor. Georgie didn’t seem to judge her clumsiness too harshly, just smiling at her.

“So what’s the world of an archival assistant like? Fast-paced and thrilling?” Melanie laughed at that.

“Yeah, sure, researching for eight hours a day gives me such a rush.” Melanie could make out Sasha and Martin eagerly discussing some sort of drinking game to play in the background, but her attention was definitely on the woman in front of her. She knew she had just met Georgie, but she was definitely interested in learning more. 

This was unexpected, but she was not complaining. 

Tim pulled Sasha into a side room of the Archives about half an hour after Georgie arrived, seeing as Melanie was obviously too distracted to contribute to the conversation. 

“This is crazy, right? Was Melanie right? Blackmail?” Tim theorized wildly, and Sasha shrugged.

“I think it’s cute!” She laughed as Tim made an incredulous face at her. She twirled one of her long braids around her finger. “Tim, really, I’m happy for them, and they seem very happy. Did you notice the time Jon started getting better tantrum-wise was close to when they started dating? Adorable.”

“I… I guess. I don’t know. It’s insane. I’ve never seen Jon smile before. Is he two different people? Are we dealing with a bodysnatcher? No way this asshole managed to date someone as nice as Martin. Unless he’s hiding something.” Sasha was used to Tim thinking himself into a frenzy, and coming up with doomed and impulsive plans. She had to cut this train of thought off.

“Sure, it’s kind of weird. Especially considering how Jon used to act. But he’s trying to be nicer, Tim, really he is! I don’t want to hear about you doing anything crazy. Focus on matchmaking Georgie and Melanie, if you need something to keep busy.” She went to leave the side room, decisive as ever, and Tim followed reluctantly, looking a little put out. 

“Okay. Sure. Fine. Whatever. I need a drink.” He made a beeline for a nearby table with mixers on it. Sasha continued out of the main room filled with rows of shelves and into the small room their desks were in. She wanted some water, if she was going to be playing any of the drinking games they’d been discussing, and she was beginning to get a nagging feeling she would want to be tipsy for whatever this party had in store.

She found Martin instead. He looked like he was hiding, a little, and Sasha watched as he tucked himself a little bit more into his corner of the Archives, somewhat hidden behind a shelf.

“Where’s Jon?” Sasha asked, leaning against the wall near Martin. Martin sighed, in a fond sort of way.

“Jon tends to be a bit of a lightweight. He’s had maybe two drinks and he’s already busy talking Georgie’s ear off. Figured I’d catch a break for a sec, then jump back in and rescue her. Serves her right for showing up late.” Martin laughed a bit, and Sasha could see the obvious fondness in his eyes as he spoke about Jon. She was just as surprised as Tim that Jon’s boyfriend turned out to be real, and even more so that they seemed to work so well together. Jon seemed like a different person around him, and you could almost ignore his sharp edges when they were balanced out with Martin’s own softness.

“You two are a cute couple,” Sasha said with a smile.

“Yeah? I think so too.” Martin smiled in return, looking a bit pleased with himself at her words. “I don’t think your coworker would agree. He doesn’t seem fond of Jon, and I keep catching odd looks from him, if you would happen to know what that’s about?”

“Well. Tim can be stubborn, but to be fair, so can Jon,” She offered. Sasha had never been in the position where she might need to tell someone’s significant other that he had acted like an immense asshole for a long period of time, and that it was pretty justified for his coworkers to dislike him, and she was finding it an uncomfortable one to be in. Martin was obviously nowhere near satisfied with the response.

“Jon can be stubborn, sure, but he isn’t that bad, surely? I’m biased, but I find him quite nice to be around,” he responded, raising an eyebrow, and Sasha caught the message to tread lightly. 

“He was. A bit of a prick, when he started working here, to be honest. He and Tim got off entirely on the wrong foot, and to put it gently, um. It wasn’t exactly Tim’s fault. Jon was rather prickly at first.” She attempted an awkward smile, and Martin laughed a little.

“Jon isn’t the best at first impressions. The first time we met, he heavily implied I was incompetent, and that he didn’t like me in the least. Now the dynamic is a little different.” 

“Sounds like Jon,” Sasha said, and Martin nodded. There was a moment where no one spoke, and Sasha fidgeted, tapping her bright yellow nails on her leg. “He’s gotten better, though. I’d consider him a friend if it seemed like he was interested in making those.” 

Martin went to stand up, holding out a hand to help her to her feet. “Give him time. We’ll see how the party goes, yeah? Maybe we’ll all bond.”

“Yeah. That sounds likely, because we’re all people with great social skills.” Sasha grinned at Martin. She thought it might be rather nice to not be the only sensible one around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i’m on tumblr at @diffenbachiae !!! if you have a youtuber to watch, tv show suggestion, movie suggestion, literally anything, i’m so bored, please send me an ask with something to DO 
> 
> pls leave a comment and lmk what u think i live for feedback


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the absolute relief of finding out you have adhd and your brain just works differently, you aren’t broken or stupid or lazy, and learning methods and strategies to work with yourself rather than beating yourself up while simultaneously developing a support system for the first time in your life… we love that journey for jon… i’m not projecting or anything… okay maybe everything about jon's adhd in this fic is based on my own experiences but damn this was cathartic to write

It was 11 pm, Jon was quite thoroughly drunk, and he was quite thoroughly enjoying it.

Someone had put on music, not long ago- he thought it might have been Georgie. It was some soft indie song, heavy on the guitar, and Martin had perked up at the beginning, pulling Jon to his feet.

“It’s one of my favorites, love, come on!” He had felt himself standing up, and suddenly Martin’s face was close to his, nose crinkled in a smile and eyes lit up, as Martin pulled him into a sort of slow sway that could resemble dancing.

Martin’s hand was on the small of his back, pulling him close, while the other held Jon’s own hand, their fingers intertwined. He had had enough drinks for the edges of his vision to become blurry and unimportant, his eyes focused only on Martin as his head tilted with the music.

“S’… so lovely, Martin.” He said softly, bringing his free hand up to rest gently on the side of Martin’s face. Jon could feel his face pulled into a sappy grin, distantly aware his assistants were probably watching the two of them and not able to bring himself to care. He cared about Martin and Martin only in this moment. He couldn’t stop admiring all the tiny details on Martin’s face. Jon felt like he had every freckle memorized, knew the placement of every eyelash, knew the exact arc of Martin’s cupid's bow. 

“You need some water, Jon,” Martin laughed softly, pressing a tiny kiss to Jon’s forehead. “And some sleep soon, I think.” 

Jon made an indignant expression. “N- no, I don’t. Need you.” He brought his arm up around Martin’s shoulders, pulling Martin even closer into an odd sort of hug. 

Martin’s eyes softened further, and he continued gently pulling Jon in slow circles, even as the song changed to a more upbeat rhythm. They danced to their own music, and as the song reached a crescendo, Martin carefully twisted and lowered Jon into a dip.

Jon looked up at Martin through his eyelashes, and leaned up to kiss him, lingering in the kiss without deepening it. He wanted to just enjoy the contact, enjoy the safety in Martin’s arms, knowing that there was no chance the other man would let him fall. That was what it meant, to accept you’re loved, he thought. Trusting the other person won’t let you fall. It had taken him quite some time to get used to the idea.

Martin gently lifted Jon back up into a standing position, and Jon put both arms around Martin’s neck, smiling as Martin’s hands fell to rest on Jon’s hips as they continued to sway. It was just them, just the two of them and what they shared, and they were lost in it.

“Get a room!” Tim leaned back in his chair, arm around Sasha, who swiftly poked him in the ribs. 

“It’s cute, shh!” She whispered, smiling at Jon and Martin as their strange waltz took them deeper into the shelves of the Archives and out of view. 

“I’m just saying, I don’t make out with you in front of my coworkers. That gives me an idea, though-”

“Do not even think about it. I refuse to taste vomit every morning while I try and do my job.” Melanie shook her head, crossing her legs to sit more comfortably, and Georgie giggled from her position besides Melanie. Melanie tried her best not to be absurdly pleased by this.

“I feel like we should catch up with Jon. We’re behind, drink-wise.” Tim said, punctuating his point by gesturing with his cup, which threatened to spill. Sasha took it, drinking from it instead, and leaning into Tim’s side. 

Melanie stole another tiny glance at Georgie, and flicked her eyes away as she saw Georgie already looking at her. When she looked back, Georgie was now focused on Tim and Sasha, looking slightly pink. 

“We should play a game!” She said, and Melanie once again was amazed by her confidence. She knew if she had two friends who invited her to a social event and then immediately ditched her to go be sappy in the corner, she’d be pissed, but Georgie seemed to blend in seamlessly to their odd archival group, and she certainly wasn’t complaining about how close Georgie was sitting to her. Or how well the night- the date?- had gone so far. 

“Not Truth or Dare.” Melanie said immediately, glaring at Tim. They needed no repeats of that incident. 

“Truth or truth,” He countered, pointing at her. Sasha reached up and lowered his extended arm, giggling quietly from beside him. “And you’re allowed one pass.”

“Fine.” She raised an eyebrow at him expectantly, and he slid his eyes around the circle, making eye contact with the other three one by one. Melanie wondered exactly how much vodka he had tipped into the screwdriver he was drinking. 

Sasha had stolen said drink and quickly finished it, batting her eyes at Tim in hopes of convincing him to fetch her another one. Melanie had been sober for two years, and felt that familiar pang, like she was missing out on the fun, but consoled herself with the knowledge she had less of a chance of embarrassing herself in front of the beautiful girl sitting directly next to her. Plus, someone had to drive everyone home, even if she was an unlikely caretaker.

“Georgie, truth or truth.” Tim pointed again and Sasha avoided his arm as she stood, heading to get everyone besides Melanie a refill. Georgie tapped her chin and mimed thinking deeply.

“Tough. Tough. On one hand, truth… but on the other hand, truth.” 

“Flip a coin or something, we don’t have all day!” Tim looked to Sasha for her reaction to his joke, and his face dropped to find her not there. Melanie stifled a laugh as Tim looked frantically around the room, and visibly relaxed to see Sasha return, passing out a few bottles and cans before retaking her spot at Tim’s side and kissing his cheek. Tim smiled proudly, and Melanie glanced at Georgie, who was looking back at her with a smile in her eyes.

Melanie almost averted her gaze in another panic, but she enjoyed looking at Georgie too much. She gestured subtly at Tim, and rolled her eyes, and Georgie put a hand on her arm as she laughed. 

Georgie’s hand was warm, turquoise painted nails standing out brightly against her pale skin, and Melanie felt a little like she couldn’t breathe. She had done that- she had caused that reaction in Georgie, that laugh that she wanted to listen to over and over again. She didn’t want to do anything else in her entire life than sit next to Georgie and hear her laugh. 

“Melanie, help, it’s too hard of a decision.” Georgie swooned dramatically, leaning onto Melanie slightly.

“Uh, t-truth.” She got out, startled by the feeling of Georgie pressed against her side. Not her most eloquent moment. 

“After hours of heated debate, I’ve decided on truth.” Georgie sat upright again, and Melanie cursed herself. Should she have put an arm around Georgie? Would that have been too much? She shifted slightly, moving in her chair so she was sitting even closer, and attempted to gauge her reaction. 

Georgie didn’t seem to notice, taking a long sip of her drink as Tim thought, his decision no doubt made slower by how much alcohol was in his system. Somewhere further in the shelves, Melanie could make out Jon and Martin’s quiet voices. Most of the non-archival staff had left, but a few groups from other departments sat here and there, invested in their own activities and conversations. Elias had not attended, thank god, so the general air was easy, happy, and drunk. 

“Worst date,” he offered with a shrug. “I can’t think of anything else, to be honest.”

Georgie laughed, and Melanie once again told herself not to obsess over the laugh of someone she had just met. What was wrong with her? She had always considered herself a realist, when it came to romance, but she was finding it hard to fight daydreams of waltzing Georgie around the room like Martin and Jon were doing.

“That’s easy, when Jon and I dated and he showed up two hours late. The restaurant thought he had stood me up and had already given me free food and stuff, but I knew him well enough to know he’d show up eventually, and sure enough he shows up and tells me he got distracted by, of all things, doing the dishes.” She paused a long moment for dramatic effect before continuing. “It was my birthday.”

“No!” Sasha burst out laughing, then clapped a hand over her mouth. “I’m sorry, that’s terrible-”

“No, it’s definitely hilarious, don’t worry. Apparently he had wanted to be productive before he came, so he started the dishes, realized he was missing one of the pieces from a flatware set, searched for the missing piece, found a book he had thought he’d lost instead, and was reading the book accidentally, as he put it, when he realized time had continued passing.” She smiled, looking almost nostalgic, while Melanie thought to herself if someone she was dating tried that excuse they’d be over on the spot. Tim seemed to have the same idea.

“So you broke up with him, right?” Tim asked.

“No! We dated for another month, actually,” Georgie shrugged. “When he actually explained his ADHD to me, it made everything a lot more understandable. It’s not like he does it on purpose, or because he doesn’t care, which is what I thought at first. I’m sure you guys had the same conversation.”

Melanie exchanged a shocked glance with Sasha and Tim, who all turned their attention to Georgie at the same time. She winced.

“Shit, he hasn’t talked about it with you guys. Forget- forget I said that, damn, I’ll have to apologize to Jon-”

“We aren’t going to be pricks about it, or something, but- huh.” Tim slurred slightly, but seemed to be attempting to focus past the alcohol. Melanie thought about it for a moment, and felt like a million puzzle pieces were clicking into place. Tasks that Jon would leave unfinished for days at a time, upset and angry if anyone disturbed them, and complete weeks later when he had bursts of wild energy. Jon’s tendency to focus so completely he’d fail to hear noises directly in front of him, or remember to get up to do something else every once in a while. All the times he’d been… weird.

She felt insanely guilty. This whole time, they’d been judging Jon harshly on something that wasn’t his fault- sure, he’d been a jerk at first, but even as he had started to warm up it’s not like she had ever attempted to change her opinion of him.

“He told me he was going to tell you, I thought he already did. I guess not.” Georgie looked mortified, and Melanie put a hand on her shoulder.

“If he was going to tell us anyway, I don’t think he'd be too upset you mentioned it, especially if you thought we already knew. It doesn’t sound like it was supposed to be a huge secret, just that apparently the three of us are… really oblivious.” She shot a glance at Tim, who nodded, looking somewhat sheepish. Sasha looked deep in thought.

“I- I guess.” Georgie didn’t look entirely convinced, but she put her hand over Melanie’s where it was on her shoulder and sent her a small smile. 

“Your turn to ask someone!” Sasha offered a subject change, and Georgie accepted.

“Alright. Tim…”

“Martin…”

“Yes, love?” Martin smiled at Jon, pulling him closer to him where they sat, side by side, leaning against a wall further in the Archives. 

“Love you,” Jon murmured softly, bringing his hand up to Martin’s shoulder, pulling him close so Jon could push his face into his neck. Martin huffed a laugh, adjusting their position so Jon was practically in his lap, and filled completely with such a fierce protectiveness he was almost surprised at himself. “Y’know that, right? I love you,” Jon continued.

The sincerity in Jon’s tone went directly to Martin’s heart. “I know, Jon. You know that I love you too?” He brushed a thumb over Jon’s eyebrow, cupping the side of his face, and Jon nodded tiredly.

“Mm… di’nt used to. Know now, though.” He smiled up at Martin, and Martin kissed him soundly for a long moment, reluctantly pulling away and taking another moment just to look at Jon, to take in everything about him and try and comprehend he was lucky enough to love him, to live with him, to be loved by him. 

“Wh’ happened to everyone else?” Jon was sobering up somewhat, but he was still considerably far gone. Martin had drank almost exactly the same amount, he reflected with some humor. 

“They’re playing a game. Do you want to join them?” He asked, shifting to get up, and Jon made an outraged sound, pulling at his sleeve to get him to stay. Martin laughed as he gave in, sitting still once more, and Jon pulled him even tighter into his arms. “We live together, Jon, you’ll have plenty of time to have me all to yourself.”

“Does’n mean…. Doesn’ mean…” Jon seemed to give up as he once again lost his train of thought, and Martin pressed a kiss to the top of his head. “I want this time too. All the time.”

“I know, darling, but let’s go join the others, okay? And you’ll have all the time when we get home.” He once again attempted to stand, this time successful, and pulled Jon to his feet, catching him in his arms and steadying him. Jon looked a bit dazed, but seemed to wake up somewhat at the sudden movement, especially since they were now fully upright. He clutched Martin’s hand tightly as the two made their way back through the shelves to the others.

“Jon!” Georgie called happily at the sight of him, and Martin definitely noticed how close Georgie had moved her chair to Melanie’s. It seemed Jon was a better matchmaker than anticipated. 

“Georgie!” Jon called back excitedly, and let go of Martin’s hand to hold out his arms. She grinned widely, standing up to hug him. “Missed you.”   
“You were gone like an hour, Jon,” she said, her laughter evident in her voice, “but I missed you too. Want to join the game?” 

He shook his head vehemently, and then winced at the movement. “‘M’... drunk.”

“Yeah, I noticed,” she said, still smiling, and steered him to his vacated chair. Georgie then held out a hand to Melanie. “I’m gonna grab another drink- wanna come?”

“Sure.” She took the outstretched hand and followed Georgie out of sight to the drinks table. Martin couldn’t help but noticed that their fingers were still interlocked as they walked.

Sasha was swaying a bit, in her seat, and had an almost empty bottle in her hand, gesturing with it as she spoke excitedly and quickly about a book she had read recently to her boyfriend at her side. Tim’s eyes were fixed on her face, entranced and smiling widely at her, even though it was quite apparent he had no idea what she was talking about. It seemed as if all pretense of a drinking game had been abandoned in favor of enjoying the effects it had created. 

“And- okay so it’s about existentialism, and Sartre writes it’s your responsibility- it’s always responsibility, with them, and duties, but honestly I think part of that is due to the religious nature of the time, and nowadays if-”

Martin let her voice fade into background noise, turning his attention once again to Jon, who was gazing off into the distance, seemingly deep in thought. When Martin took his seat next to him, he startled slightly, then visibly relaxed when he saw it was Martin. 

“Martin- did I tell you…” He trailed off, pushing up his glasses, and Martin waited patiently. Jon tended to have too many words sober, and not enough drunk. “You know- I love you.”

“You did mention that, yes. I love you too.” Martin leaned forward again to kiss him, and all was right in the world. 

Melanie had not let go of her hand.

She kept expecting her too, as Georgie pulled her along towards the drinks table, but Melanie’s grip was firm, and Georgie wasn’t exactly complaining. Jon had told her a lot about Melanie, and she had already been rather excited to meet her, as it sounded like Melanie was exactly the type of person she’d love to be friends with. When Jon told her he’d set them up on a date, she was excited, sure, but she wasn’t expecting to be actually romantically interested.

And then she had seen Melanie. She was gorgeous, all sharp angles and dark hair and tattoos, and Georgie had suddenly changed her entire outlook on the entire night. She felt like she should have dressed up more, honestly, in her beat-up tennis shoes next to Melanie’s flawless makeup. 

They’d been joking together the entire night, sharing private laughs about Tim and Sasha’s antics, and taking small breaks in the game to talk more traditional date talk. Georgie had learned Melanie’s favorite drink, what high school she went to, all the sort of icebreakers you would expect, but they had moved quickly into surprisingly interesting topics. Melanie was just as interested in the paranormal as Georgie, it seemed, and Georgie had blushed when she found out that Melanie even listened to her podcast. 

All in all, the night was going perfectly. Enough so that Georgie felt like she could push her luck a little bit, and so she too kept a tight grip on Melanie’s hand and when they were out of sight of the others, turned to face her.

“So this is going well-” Melanie started, and Georgie interrupted her, pushing one of her hands into Melanie’s hair and waiting a moment for permission before acting further. Melanie froze, looking at her in confusion, and Georgie leaned in slightly, testing the waters. Melanie’s expression did not change, and she laughed a little, leaning back.

“Guess I should just be straight-forward. I’ve had a lovely time, I really like you, I want to see you again, an-” and halfway through her speech Melanie caught onto what Georgie had been trying to do and cut off her words by kissing her. 

When they returned to the group, Sasha was hysterically giggling as Jon very sincerely and patiently was attempting to explain to Tim why he couldn’t patent his idea for vodka ice cubes. Martin was hanging onto his every word, looking considerably more drunk then when they had left him, and completely enamored with Jon. Georgie shot the two a fond look, and Melanie watched her as she did so, reaching out to wipe a remnant of a smudge of dark lipstick off of the corner of her mouth. The others seemed not to notice.

Tim finally had decided to stop teasing Jon, agreeing finally that perhaps the fact that vodka does not freeze in home refrigerators might be more of a blow to the idea than he had originally considered, and instead turned to look at the group gathered around him.

“So,” he started, a wide grin on his face. “I throw the best fucking parties.”

Melanie and Georgie were Facebook official one month later, and Tim took complete credit for it.

“I had the idea,” he bragged often, “I suggested Jon’s friend being your plus one”, and it was easier just to let him have it to point out that Jon was the one to actually set up the date.

The dynamic between Jon and his assistants had changed remarkably. It was hard to think of someone in the same way when you’d seen them with their guard let so completely down, and the Archives finally reached a level of easy friendship. They would go out to lunch together often, Martin or Georgie joining when they could line up the time with their own, and eventually this progressed to having movie nights, holding it at Jon and Martin’s at first, and then as more months passed and living arrangements changed cycling between Tim and Sasha’s flat, Jon and Martin’s, or Melanie and Georgie’s. 

Every once in a while, Jon would mention Martin as ‘his boyfriend’ instead of by name out of habit, and the jokes would start all over again. Tim would pretend to have no knowledge of Martin, teasing that perhaps he was made up, Sasha would ask him questions about this so-called boyfriend, and Melanie would roll her eyes at their tired routine. Jon would simply smile, looking around at his friends, at his life, and know it was happiness, it was real, and he had found it.

/end

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS IS THE FIRST PIECE OF WRITING THAT WASNT FOR SCHOOL I HAVE EVER FINISHED !!! not counting poems when i was in elementary school of course
> 
> i hope you guys liked it!!!!! it was a TON of fun to write!! if you enjoyed this i highly recommend reading my other works... mayhaps....
> 
> my tumblr is @diffenbachiae, come b my friend <3


	4. do i hear an EPILOGUE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bonus: the vodka hot chocolate recipe, as requested by yall in the comments, in the form of a bonus chapter bc you guys are rly sweet and ily all and the comments maybe sort of made me cry after i drank too much of said orange vodka hot chocolate recipe and got emotional ANYWAY HERE <3333333333333333

“Melanie! I swear, one more fucking time and I-”

“Oh, I’m sorry Tim, does it bother you when someone steals your seat? Repeatedly? Is that annoying, Tim? Is it perhaps bothersome to have your seat stolen? I can’t imagine what it would feel like, to have your seat taken away from you.” Melanie looked up with a huge smile on her face from her seat on Jon’s couch, arm thrown around Sasha casually, who was also smiling angelically up at Tim. 

“I already apologized for hiding your chair, that was  _ months _ ago, honestly, give me my girlfriend back! You have your own!” Tim gestured at Georgie, and Melanie slung an arm around her as well, grinning widely up at Tim, who huffed and sat in a vacated seat near Martin instead.

Martin leaned over to tap Jon softly on the arm. “Love, the water’s boiling.”

“ _ Oh- _ ” Jon startled to attention, heading into the kitchen quickly, and Martin watched him go, a wide smile on his face. Tim had started throwing pillows at Melanie, which was proven to be an ill-advised decision as Melanie immediately stood up and hit him in the face with a nearby weapon of her own. He took the opportunity to dash around her and slide into his seat, looking smug as she scowled and sat in a nearby armchair instead. 

Jon was almost reluctant to leave the living room. He never got sick of this, even after two years of teasing and chaos and dramatics- any irritation he might have felt, once upon a time, was drowned out by his overwhelming love for the people he surrounded himself with, and he found himself with a fond smile on his face even as he switched his attention to the recipe he was attempting. 

He turned the heat down, poured a decent amount of milk into the pot, and turned to grab a few orange tea bags, throwing them in, and then promptly almost burned himself when he felt arms slip around his waist from behind.

“Martin!” He laughed, leaning back, and felt a kiss pressed to the top of his head. “Careful!” 

“I’m sorry, am I not allowed to be affectionate towards my boyfriend?” He asked petulantly, kissing Jon’s cheek this time, then his jaw. Jon tapped the ring on his left hand.

“Fianc é , or did you forget?” He tilted his head back and Martin pressed a chaste kiss to the hollow right beneath his ear.

“How could I forget you waking me up at 4 in the morning to tell me we needed to get married because you couldn’t wait anymore?” Martin laughed, releasing Jon and leaning against the nearby countertop to give him room to work. Jon turned and grabbed chocolate chips from the freezer, dumping in enough to satisfy Martin’s sweet tooth, tossing in a pinch or two of brown sugar for good measure. His careful measuring of exactly half a teaspoon of vanilla extract was ruined by a loud shout from the living room throwing him off his balance- it seemed the battle for limited seating was continuing, and Tim was losing as his girlfriend betrayed him to the floor. 

“It’s brutal out there. We need to invest in another couch,” Martin reflected, hoisting himself up to sit on the counter, and grinning as Jon immediately shot him a horrified look.

“That’s unsanitary, Martin, get down from there-”

“Alright, alright! I’ll stop being distracting, then.” He slid back onto the floor, kissing Jon’s cheek before heading back toward the living room, and Jon’s smile lingered as he added half a cup of milk, stirring to avoid the chocolate chips burning as they melted. 

From the living room, he could hear muffled conversation, something about what movie to watch, and he could just pick out the individual voices of his friends- his family. Tim was loudly proclaiming it was his turn to pick the movie, and he could make out Sasha arguing about whether it should be a horror night or a comedy night. Melanie was saying something quietly to Georgie. He finished the recipe, leaning into the doorframe, and saw the gentle expression on Georgie’s face as she looked up at Melanie’s. Searching the room further, he turned and locked eyes with Martin, who patted the couch next to him, and sent Jon a soft smile from across the room. 

Everything was going to be okay. He wasn’t facing the world alone. And he never would be again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this drink was invented specifically for broke 19 year olds like me, because we can’t buy fancy shit yet and have to depend on our older friends buying us giant bottles of vodka we make last for months, but that cheap shit tastes nasty and you gotta mask the taste somehow, and citrus works really well. plus it’s really unlikely you don’t have all the ingredients because substitutions are super easy and most of the ingredients arent essential. i invented it, didn’t use a recipe or anything i just kept tossing shit in the pot until it tasted good, but here’s my go-to:
> 
> -add two cups of water, wait for it to boil, then turn the heat down to a simmer as you add other ingredients  
> -add milk, if you want, you don’t have to, or coffee creamer if you have that instead. a small amount of butter also works pretty well to thicken it and make it creamier  
> -add two orange teabags, other flavors work too (again, citrus works best to mask the alcohol taste, but chai or earl grey is also choice)  
> -add chocolate chips (as many or little as you want, depends on how chocolately you want it and how long you want to sit there stirring) and stir until they’re melted (you could also use part of a candy bar, or whatever sweet thing you have lying around that you think would taste good in hot chocolate)  
> -i usually add a few pinches of brown sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla extract, but neither are super necessary. other ideas for taste: cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, chocolate syrup, orange flavoring, you get the picture.   
> -add however much vodka you’re feeling (i find i can tolerate a max of 3 shots before it gets way too strong, 1.5 ish is ideal) to a mug, pour as much hot cocoa as you want over it, and stir. wait for it to cool off and you’re done!! add whipped cream, sprinkles, and a sudden urge to write so much sappy fanfiction it’s all you can think about. ignore your in progress fics to suddenly get an extreme urge to write a 20 chapter jonmartin coffeeshop au. the first chapter will be up in a few days LMAO
> 
> that’s about it!!! i really love it because you can add pretty much anything and it’ll still be good. even as i started running out of stuff to add (food desert during a pandemic gotta fucking love it) just orange tea with the vodka and some sugar didn’t taste too bad and still served its purpose of getting me decently tipsy without me wanting to rip off my tongue at the taste of vodka. shit’s gross. 
> 
> tell me in the comments if you try it!!!!!!!


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